This invention relates to a gutter protection device which is interposed between a roof mounted gutter and a ladder which is leaned against the gutter.
When painting and other work is to be performed on elevated areas of a house or other building, or when access to the roof is necessary, it is common practice to use an extension ladder which is typically leaned against the gutter on the eaves of the building. Leaning of the ladder directly against the gutter often causes the chipping of paint from the gutter, unsightly dents in the outer edge of the gutter, and other damage to the gutter and/or ladder. Another problem is that there is ordinarily little to prevent the ladder from sliding to the side along the gutter. Consequently, the ladder can easily fall and cause severe injury to persons working from the ladder or climbing up and down on it.
Various types of ladder accessories have been proposed to protect gutters against damage caused by ladders and/or to enhance the stability of the ladder by preventing it from sliding on the gutter. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,444,291 and 3,853,202 disclose the use of brackets extending from the ladder into the gutter to secure the ladder against slipping. These devices are somewhat complicated to construct and use and must be repositioned on the ladder from time to time, all of which has contributed to their lack of commercial acceptance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,860 shows a similar device which must be detached and reconnected by U-bolts each time it is applied to a different rung of the ladder. The device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,421 requires that spikes be driven into the fascia board on which the gutter is mounted, and it is thus difficult at best to move the device when the ladder is to be repositioned.